Jill DeVore has been chosen one of 20 Outstanding Women for 2014 by radio station Sunny 95. This is due to the many people who work so hard and volunteer countless hours to make Medicine for Mali a successful, vibrant group. Thanks to you all.

Good news: all of Medicine for Mali’s is continuing this year, even though the American team could not make it’s yearly visit this winter. For example:

4 new villages (3500 people) will be getting clean water wells this year.

The Malian doctor who held MFM med clinics this year was surprised by the lack of stomach and intestinal aliments in the villagers. He said the clean water wells were the reason, and he thanked MFM for this.

New Micro-finance loans went out to 350 people in 8 villages in 2013.

School-teacher trainings are being held in the villages’ schools. All MFM trained teachers have passed their evaluations. Scholarship students are receiving their money to go to high school in the capital.

A Midwife is coming for monthly prenatal visits to assist and teach the village matrons. Many more women are coming for prenatal visits now!

Public Health trainings and refresher courses are occurring now.

Monthly Immunizations sessions in all villages are occurring. Malaria prevention talks and weighing of children for malnutrition are continuing.

These two energetic groups in Columbus, Ohio, have collected school supplies to encourage girls to stay in school and do well on tests. These school supplies will be given to the top 3 girl test takers on 3 tests.

In 2010, one village had 7 deaths of children under 4 years old due to malaria. This information is in the Vital Stats notebooks that the MFM village volunteers are keeping. MFM will have a training to help the village and volunteers work together to use this information to highlight problems and then find solutions. In MFM trainings, our volunteers are taught methods to fight malaria; for example, use more bednets and get rid of mosquito breeding grounds. In the following year, the village can use the Vital Stats books to see if fewer children died,if their solutions worked or determine what else needs to be done. This is the beginnings of democratic governance.

Virginia Gildersleeves International Fund (VGIF) has given MFM a grant for a midwife to go out to our 8 villages to supervise our matrons (woman in the village who assists women with births.) This is a follow up grant to the first VGIF grant which allowed us to train the matrons in safe delivery practices. Now these brave women will have a midwife to monitor their work and assist them in honing their skills to a new level.

The matrons were so grateful for the first training. Several told me “Now I understand the birth process.” This grant will give them the opportunity to discuss with and learn from midwife.

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The Medicine for Mali mission is to collaborate with our partners in Mali, Africa in a sustainable approach to improve lives through medical aid, education, public health, microfinance, and clean water while promoting friendship across cultures.